Proof
by ashestoashesanddusttodust
Summary: Tim smells the remnants of something burnt the second he opens the door and hopes that's not the coffee machine. JayTim


**Proof  
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**A Word**: For the cooking/baking theme of the 12 Days of JayTim.

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Tim doesn't cook. He can, he just usually chooses not to for various reasons that range from time to general laziness. He sticks to reheating leftover takeout or food from Alfred in between microwaving frozen dinners. Sometimes he'll buy actual organic and unprocessed foods, but nothing that takes more prep than a knife and a microwave. Tim doesn't cook by choice.

Jason doesn't cook because he _can't_. He's an expert at using the microwave and can do things with boiling water that Tim frankly hadn't considered possible but that's it. That is the full extent of Jason's culinary skills. Tim's watched Jason set fire to a stove trying to fry up some bacon once. He managed it in under a minute which should be impossible because it'd take two at the very least to even warm up the coils of the ancient thing he'd been using at the time. He'd once tried to make a box of brownies in Tim's kitchen. All that had required was stirring and baking. Tim had to throw out the pan and the unholy thing that came out of his oven in the harbor after taking Jason to get his stomach pumped.

Tim doesn't cook, and Jason can't. So Tim's surprised to come home to a kitchen full of dirty dishes and a suspiciously smokey smell. He looks bemused at the sink that's piled high with various pans soaking and black flakes swirling in it. The counters have been messily wiped down and the trash can is empty so Tim has no idea what was attempted.

He smiles and laughs as he scrapes a greasy bit of black off of a pan in the sink. They at least look salvageable. Tim lets himself laugh loud and hard. Getting it all out now because-

He hears the scrape of a key in the door and bites his lips. Pulling it all back in, because it is funny but Jason won't see the humor in it for a good month yet. Maybe two. He hears the crinkle of bags and the door slamming shut. Locks clicking in place before Jason obviously catches sight of the briefcase Tim left near the door. "Fuck!"

Tim grins widely before wiping the expression from his face and walking to the kitchen door. Looking through the living room to a sullen looking man holding takeout bags from a place Tim's never heard of before.

"You're home early," Jason says with a flash of teeth and a warning glare that Tim knows very well. He doesn't try to hide the bags as he pushes past Tim and dumps them on the table. Tim is home early. A good four hours early and he's caught Jason completely off guard. He's embarrassed and covering it up with a sneer. "Lucky you, you get to help me scrub the shit off the dishes."

"We can let them soak a little longer," Tim pulls out a foil container with a clear top that holds a whole chicken and a few smaller ones that have the usual sides. Jason shoves one of the bags into the refrigerator whole. His jaw is working and he's not looking at Tim at all. "Do you want to put dye in Dick's shampoo?"

Jason jerks and the refrigerator door slams shut. "What?"

"Purple or red?" Tim asks as he moves to get plates. "I think he'd like any other color too much to be worth it."

Jason's lips twitch. Only slightly before he's scowling again. It's enough though to break the foul mood that's been building. "If we use red he'd just try to screw himself, and he doesn't even need more encouragement in that area."

"Purple it is," Tim sits and waits for Jason before popping the lids off the containers. Jason helps himself to the chicken but leaves more than enough for Tim. He lets his lips twitch up, just a little. "You really need to stop letting Dick get to you like this."

"Dickhead's not getting to me," Jason denies immediately.

"Uh huh," Tim let's his skepticism show as he takes a good portion of the mashed potatoes. "So this," Tim spins his spoon to indicate the entire kitchen, "has nothing to do with Dick's teasing?"

"No!"

Of course it is. Dick loves pushing things and Jason can't _not_ respond to it. So, of course when Dick found an opening he exploited it. Poking fun at Jason for a lack of romance. Something that really isn't true but apparently pricked him enough to try cooking.

"Dick's a dick," Tim pours some gravy over the potatoes and smiles fully. Jason's watching him warily. Tim doesn't say anything about how sappy Jason can and does get. He'll deny it. Vehemently. Just as much as he'll deny that Dick making fun of him for not being sappy gets to him. "We could also put Koolaid in his shower head."

Jason smirks, and Tim watches the last bits of his prickly anger roll away. "Sure, why the hell not? Dick could always use a good pranking."

Tim grins and sets a mental reminder for himself to tease Jason about this in a month. Until then, he enjoys the food made by someone else and discusses the best formula to use for the dye.

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End file.
